Hogwarts no Gaara-sensei
by Byakko Loki
Summary: Dumbledore is worried about the safety of keeping the Philosopher's Stone in a school full of children, and so he hires a shinobi to protect both the Stone, and the students, should anyone try to take it. It is the Kazekage Gaara who ends up taking on the mission to go to Hogwarts undercover as a Japanese teacher, offering the first ever second language course at Hogwarts.
1. 綱手の手紙 - Tsunade's Letter

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

 **綱手の手紙**

 **Tsunade's Letter**

* * *

"Kakashi."

Kakashi looked up from his paperwork to see Tsunade in the doorway. "Lady Tsunade. To what do I owe this visit?"

Tsunade smirked ruefully, "I got a letter." Walking over towards the desk, she deposited it in front of Kakashi. It was made of what looked to be parchment in the shape of an envelope and had an ornate wax seal. "It was delivered by owl."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Owl? I've never heard of shinobi using owls for mail delivery." He carefully picked up the envelope, examining it. As he looked it over she replied, "I never said it was from a shinobi."

He looked up, and she smirked. "A civilian?"

"Wrong again," she said, walking around the desk. She stopped in front of one of the many windows. "It was sent by a wizard."

Kakashi stared and waited for her to continue. When it was clear she wasn't going to, he asked hesitantly, "A wizard sent it to you? From...from the outside?"

Tsunade turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, "An old of my grandfather's—from before they sealed the continent off."

"But..." Kakashi stared, "How is that even possible?"

She snorted, turning back to the window. "Wizards have their ways. I asked him about it—apparently he's pushing a hundred and fifty."

Kakashi exhaled, "That's..."

"It's not like...it's not like Madara, or Kakuzu. Wizards...they have their own ways. Less..." Tsunade grimaced. "...unpleasant ways."

Kakashi looked back at the letter in his hands, thoughtful. "So...why are you telling me this?"

Finally she turned around, her expression stern. "He's sent me a request."

Warily, Kakashi asked, "What kind of request?"

She nodded to the envelope in his hand, "Read it for yourself."

He did.

"So...he wants us to send a shinobi, to guard a magical stone...the very same stone that granted him his apparent immortality?"

"Not immortality," she corrected, "Just...extended life."

Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. "And how are we going to respond to this? Who would we even send?"

Tsunade smirked. "That's up to you."

Kakashi looked up, " _Wha_ —"

"You're the Hokage, now," she interjected. "It's up to you...Rokudaime-sama." And with that, she left.

Kakashi sighed heavily, _"Why me..."_

* * *

"Gaara," Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. "It's good to see you. How was your journey?"

"Uninterrupted," Gaara replied, satisfactory. "Ever since the War there has been little conflict among shinobi." Gaara gracefully sat down across from Kakashi, placing his Kazekage hat beside Kakashi's on the table.

"Thanks to you." Gaara looked up. "Your speech," Kakashi clarified. "It's because of you that shinobi from all nations were able to find common ground and make their peace with one another."

"They did that of their own accord. I merely gave them the push they needed."

"Nevertheless, without you, that may never have happened." Kakashi waved over a server and the two ordered. He winced at Gaara's order of salted tongue and gizzard; The villages may have may have made their peace with one another, but Kakashi thinks he may never make peace with Gaara's taste in food—he hoped not _all_ of Suna was like this…Kakashi meanwhile ordered salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant. _At least his favorite food didn't involve tongues or gizzards._

"Anyway, Gaara…so how are things with you?"

"Fine. What's wrong?"

"What?" Kakashi asked, bewildered. "What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"You look…" Gaara visibly struggled to find the right word. "…off," he finally settled upon. "What happened?"

Kakashi sighed heavily, reluctantly caving in to Gaara's questioning. "Lady Tsunade got a letter."

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow, imploring Kakashi to continue.

"It's from…a _wizard_." Kakashi paused. "From the _Other Side of the Barrier_ ," he said, noticeably quieter.

Gaara's non-existent brows shot up and he leaned in closer, Kakashi doing the same. "Explain." His tone was borderline demanding, but otherwise flat as usual.

"An old friend of her grandfather's— _long story_ —has sent a mission request."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "What kind of mission."

Sighing, Kakashi leaned back. "It's a fairly simple mission— _besides the bit about being in an unknown foreign land on the Other Side of the Barrier_. It's a semi-undercover guard mission taking place in a school for… _their kind_ ," he finished quietly. He was hesitant to mention the wizards too loudly in such a public place, lest someone eavesdrop and overhear.

Kakashi continued, "The shinobi granted this mission will have to go undercover as a teacher, secretly guarding an artifact hidden in the school."

Gaara frowned, interjecting, "They hid the artifact in a school."

Kakashi winced. "Yeah…I've been told that this school is one of the safest locations in their land, hence their reasoning for hiding it there, but…I don't know." He lowered his head into his hands, absentmindedly massaging his temples. "Part of the mission was to also protect the students should they come into harm's way as result of someone going after the Stone."

"The Stone?"

 _"_ _The artifact_ ," Kakashi clarified.

Gaara nodded for him to continue.

"What I'm worried about, though…is I believe that if we _don't_ send anyone, they're going to go about hiding it in the school anyways…"

"And without a shinobi there to watch over it, you're worried that innocent children are going to be hurt," Gaara finished.

"...yeah. Or maybe even killed."

Kakashi gave a tight-lipped smile—"know any shinobi willing to travel to the Other Side and stay there for up to a year away from their friends and family, in order to take on an undercover post as a teacher in a school for 'wizard' children?"

Gaara stared, thinking.

After a few moments of tense silence, "I'll do it."

"What?" Kakashi asked, uncomprehending. He blinked. "You'll…"

"I'll take the mission."

Kakashi's brows nearly reached his hairline. "You'll…you'll take the mission? _You_?"

"Yes. A mission like this, on the Other Side…you can't send just anyone. Not to mention there are not many people who would even be willing."

"But… _you_ , Gaara?"

"My talent lies in defense. As someone guarding an artifact in a school full of children, my skills will come in handy. In addition, we will be sending a shinobi outside the Barrier for the first time in over a century…we will need someone similarly skilled in foreign diplomacy and politics. As a Kage, I have more than enough experience in this regard."

"But still, _Gaara_ …you're the _Kazekage_. You can't just up and leave whenever you want," Kakashi implored.

"I trust my siblings to be able to run the village adequately in my absence. Besides," Gaara added, staring out the window and to the villagers below. "We are at peace. What better time to re-initiate contact with the Outside, than right now?"

Gaara turned back to Kakashi and stared at him with determination. "If we are going to do this, we are going to do it right." He tone left no room for argument.

 _Nonetheless_ —

"And if something happens?"

"I trust my village will be able to handle themselves until reinforcements arrive."

"I was talking about _you_ , Gaara."

Gaara frowned, confused.

"What if something happens to _you_?"

"...I'll be fine."

 _"Will you?"_

They stared at each other for a few moments in silence.

Finally Kakashi sighed, dropping his head into his hands again. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Gaara stared.

"Alright, alright— _fine_. I'll draw up the details, you just get everything sorted out on your end."

Gaara nodded. Kakashi swears he saw a glimmer of satisfaction in Gaara's eyes at winning the mini-argument. "Contact me once everything is figured out," Gaara said.

And then he was gone. Kakashi didn't even see him eat his food, and _dammit that was Kakashi's thing._

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Kakashi said to himself.

"Here's your receipt, Hokage-sama. Will that be all?"

Kakashi sighed.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'll update as soon as I can, thank you so much for your kind reviews!**_

 _ **In case this wasn't clear, I set this to take place around the same time as The Last, because I wanted Gaara to be just old enough that his age wouldn't seem TOO unreasonable for a teacher. Also, I thought his outfit around that time was most practical for an excursion to the Outside. (Plain buttondown and trousers and a small gourd attached to a belt on his hip, plus standard shinobi sandals.)**_

 _ **Finally, if you're curious as to why I had Gaara teaching a language: Most HPxNaruto crossover fanfiction where a shinobi goes undercover as a teacher, the class usually details something like physical education or "battle magic" or something similar. Basically, I'm tired of that (also I hate gym) and so I decided to take advantage of the fact that I'm currently taking my third semester of Japanese, and I'm going to base his teaching on how I was taught and the information from my textbook and workbook.**_

 _ **Please review! I get so excited every time that I see that I got a new review, and it drives me to update faster and more often! I love reading your reviews, even if it's simply just "i like this"!**_

 _ **Thank you!**_

 _ **Ja,**_

 _ **BL.**_


	2. 漏れ鍋 - The Leaky Cauldron

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter Two:**

 **漏れ鍋**

 **The Leaky Cauldron**

* * *

The first thing Dumbledore noticed about shinobi was that he was young. He knew that the shinobi had differing views when it came to what they considered to be the age of maturity, but nonetheless he had been expecting a more…middle-aged shinobi for what he believed to be their first excursion outside of their Barrier in the past century or so. But this… _Gaara_ …looked like he could still be in school.

The next thing he noticed was the kid's—no, the _shinobi's_ …unusual appearance. Red hair, dark circles that appeared unnatural, and that menacing-looking symbol on his forehead…he wondered what it meant. But this strangeness was to be expected, he supposed, from a nation that had been cut off from the rest of society for the past hundred years.

The third thing he noticed…was his expression. It looked… _off_ , on such a cherubic, childlike face. _It was unsettling, to say the least_. These were not the eyes of a child; These were the eyes of someone who had suffered through horrible events, though _war_ , and came out the other side still alive. These were the eyes of a _survivor_. And this cemented his belief that this "boy" was no _child_ —this was a shinobi; a warrior.

When he spoke it was with a voice rough from lack of use, deeper and more gravelly than he would have expected of someone his size. _Not much of a talker, then._ "Dumbledore-sensei," he said, with the faintest hint of an accent.

"You must be Mr. Gaara," Dumbledore replied happily. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," the redhead responded softly. _Very reserved. Polite, but not overly. Not very outgoing, one would think._

"Lady Tsunade and Mister Hatake told me a bit about you. They said you're from a different village?"

"That is correct. My village is Sunagakure," the small shinobi answered.

" _Suna_ …that means 'sand,' yes? As in, the Village Hidden in the Sand?"

"Yes. Unlike Konoha, Suna is located in the desert, hence the name."

"Fascinating. But, more to the point, I'm told you don't have much knowledge regarding life on the other side of the Barrier?" Dumbledore had to admit, he was surprised. Considering the shinobi were the ones who'd put up the Barrier in the first place, he'd figured they would take advantage of it to come and go as they pleased…overall, he'd expected the "Barrier" to be more one-sided. But from what Tsunade has told him so far, after they'd put up the Barrier, they'd more or less forgotten about the outside world, completely isolating themselves instead. Dumbledore wonders, if he hadn't initiated contact, just how long would they have gone closed off as they were? Would they ever have crossed that self-imposed Barrier? _Most likely not, from the sound of it_.

"No. The little information we do have is centuries old, and likely no longer relevant."

"I see. Well I prepared for that, and have gathered a collection of tomes that I feel would be useful to you…among them you will find several historical texts, as well reports on modern-day wizarding life and common need-to-know spells. If you have any questions, you can send me a letter at any time. For now, Mister Hatake had informed me you would like to spend some time observing for yourself and studying what you need to know? For that very reason, I have had a room prepared for you at the Leaky Cauldron."

Dumbledore held out his elbow towards the young shinobi, who stared at it unblinking. "If you would take my arm, we can go now—your books are already there, waiting for you."

The redhead slowly did as asked, as though he were somewhat reluctant or wary—a perfectly understandable reaction, he supposed. But soon enough he had his hand cautiously wrapped around the other man's arm, and so Dumbledore apparated them to the shoddy looking pub with an audible _crack_.

* * *

Never again. Gaara never wanted to that, _ever_ again. Their pitiful attempt at shunshin was rudimentary at best, and _dangerous_ at worst. Gaara felt like he was being torn apart and thrown around when that excessively old wizard attempted to teleport them, and he wouldn't be surprised if using this _"spell"_ had had similar, or _worse_ , results in the past.

Once they had re-materialized Gaara was quick to regain his footing, and take a wary step back and away from the crazy old man, hastily letting go of his arm. "My apologies, I always forget to warn first-timers…I trust you are alright?"

"Fine," Gaara all but ground out. He was tired of these wizards and their "magic" already.

"Excellent! Now, just this way…" Dumbledore led the way into the most run-down looking pub Gaara had ever seen, the older gentleman at the bar looking about as decrepit as the place itself.

Gaara didn't pay much attention to the conversation as they came inside, more focused on taking in his surroundings. The people inside weren't dressed nearly as oddly as the Headmaster, but they still looked unusual nonetheless. The most confusing bit, besides the debilitating and no doubt overburdening cloaks that everyone seemed to sport, was the ever prominent pointed hats that they all seemed so akin to wearing.

Most turned and stared at Dumbledore as he entered— _well known, it seemed, and widely appreciated_ —greeting him and making seemingly pleasant small-talk. The Headmaster seemed to put little effort into warding them off, only really stopping them when they began to notice the smaller, creepy-looking redhead at his side.

"Who's this, a student?"

"What's he doing with Dumbledore?"

"What's up with him?"

"Is he wearing _makeup_?"

"What's that thing on his face?"

"His hair's redder than a Weasley…"

" _Small_ , isn't he?"

"What's with the kid?"

"Is he lost?"

"He looks kind of creepy…"

Gaara took to tuning them out for the most part, after taking note of what in particular seemed to alarm them the most; it'd be good for future reference, he supposed, and it would give him a bit of an idea of what was and wasn't considered normal in this foreign land. The most alarming conclusion, by far, was the fact that they seemed to see him as a child, despite him already being nineteen years of age— _long_ past the age of maturity. Just how much did they pamper and coddle their children here? He was expecting the students at the school to be no older than twelve, but now he wasn't so sure…and he was beginning to become concerned with how his age might turn out to be one of the biggest hurdles he was going to have to face. _(He could understand being alarmed with a fourteen-year-old Kage, but a nineteen-year-old teacher? As his brother-in-law would say, this was going to be troublesome…)_

 _Mendokusē…_

He tuned back in to their conversation when he saw they had finally reached the barkeep. "Tom, how are you?" Dumbledore asked, kindly.

"Dumbledore," he said, smiling through crooked teeth, "always good to see you! Are you here about the room?"

"That's correct. This is Gaara," he said, gesturing to the shorter male. "He'll be renting the room through September fourth."

"Alright." Taking down the key and passing it over to Dumbledore, Tom frowned thoughtfully at Gaara. "He looks a little old to be a new student though, and I've never heard of a transfer before…"

"He's not a student," Dumbledore corrected, "He's actually going to be teaching Japanese at Hogwarts starting this year."

" _Teaching_ ," the man asked, astonished. He whistled lowly, "Damn, just how old is he? He doesn't look like he could be that old—and a teacher at that age…at _Hogwarts_ , of all places!" He laughed, "You certainly are an interesting character, kid, I'll give you that!"

After that they parted ways and Dumbledore led him upstairs to the room he'd be renting. It was a small thing, and looked about as rickety and broken-down as the rest of the building, but it was better than sleeping outside, and so Gaara saw no need to make a fuss— _at the very least he wouldn't have to worry about the rain putting out his fire as he slept_ …and what a novel thing, sleep was; he was still getting used to it even after nearly four years.

The books were stacked off to the side as described, and the room was accentuated with a bed, a desk, a small table and chair, and a small array of candles to provide some meager lighting. Gaara thanked Dumbledore, and soon after he left.

Alone finally, Gaara walked over to the pile of books and began sorting through them. It would be best to start with the ones on history, he supposed, and thus he settled into a long night— _which soon turned into a long week_ —of reading, and studying. In the afternoons and nights he would sometimes go out and observe the people, in an attempt to get a read on the atmosphere and better understand the culture of wizards—learn the things he knew he wouldn't be able to read in a book, much less a book written by wizards themselves.

Dumbledore had provided him with a healthy sum of spending money, and with that he was able to purchase all the supplies he could have needed, and then some. He briefly considered buying a wand but eventually ruled it out as unnecessary, as he soon found that he could perform most spells wandless and wordless, with just a bit of effort and practice on his part—he was most surprised to find that most if not all wizarding spells were at about the level of an E-rank jutsu, with the lowest difficulty rating and the least amount of skill necessary.

 _He'd have the whole book memorized by the end of the week, easily._

Now all that was left to do was to find some way to occupy his time until the start of term. He supposed he could always buy more books…maybe he could learn more spells in the meantime? Why not.

And that is how Gaara ended up memorizing all the spells for Years 1-7.

 _This mission was going to be a cinch._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Famous last words…_**

 ** _Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks!_**

 ** _Enjoyed? Leave a review, or fav/follow._**

 ** _Thank you so much for all your kind reviews so far!_**

 ** _They make me so happy, and they motivate me to update faster and more often!_**

 ** _Thank you!_**

 ** _Ja,_**

 ** _\- BL._**


	3. ホグワーツの我愛羅先生 - Prof Gaara of Hogwarts

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter Three:**

 **ホグワーツの我愛羅先生**

 **Professor Gaara of Hogwarts**

* * *

Gaara stood in front of the High Table, populated by the professors of Hogwarts, with Dumbledore beside him.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Afterward, he enunciated his words with a short, polite bow.

"Polite, isn't he?" commented Professor Sprout, leaning over to Professor Flitwick beside her.

"Bit young though, isn't he?" whispered Prof. Flitwick back, turning to face her.

Professor McGonagall however, was having a bit of a different reaction. "Just how old _is_ he," she demanded, positively _appalled._

"I believe he can speak for himself." Dumbledore simply replied, turning towards Gaara, "Mr. Gaara?"

Gaara stared her down. "I am nineteen years old."

" _Nineteen?!_ " McGonagall shrieked, "He could practically be a _student_!"

"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore hushed, "He is _more_ than competent enough for this job, I _assure_ you."

"But, but—he is just a _child_ , Albus!"

"In my country," Gaara interrupted quietly, "I am legally an adult, and have been so for many years now. As Dumbledore-sensei said, I can handle myself."

" _Well_ , that does not exactly reassure me," she lectured. "And just where is it that you are from, where— _apparently_ —children are considered to be adults?!"

"I think that is enough for now, Minerva," Dumbledore quickly intercepted, "We can discuss this in more detail later on. For now, _I give you my word_ that you have nothing to worry about. Mr. Gaara here," he said, gesturing to said redhead, "is _very_ mature for his age, and has even had experience in teaching. Not to mention that he is completely fluent in the language that he will be teaching."

This seemed to appease her for now, at least. Nevertheless, with his age now out of the way, the professors were free to further take in his appearance. He was rather on the short side, they noted, only about five and a half feet tall, maybe less, and he didn't look like he weighed more than eight stones*! He had on a dark burgundy button-down with matching trousers and wore black sandals, and attached to a belt on his hips was what looked to be a small canteen.

His skin was rather on the pale side— _even more so than Severus_ —and he had red hair—not Weasley red, but _actual red_. Charmed, perhaps? Or maybe he was a metamorphmagus? No, charmed was much more likely. Or transfigured, maybe? No matter...

It was hard to tell from where the new professor was standing away from them all, but he appeared to have light blue-green eyes that were framed by slightly-heavier-than-could-be-considered-appropriate eyeliner. Some of them reserved judgment on this... _fashion_ _choice_ of his, but others sneered at the idea of this boy— _this boy who was going to be teaching at their school_ —wearing flashy-looking makeup. The most alarming thing, however, was the glaringly large tattoo that he blatantly displayed on his forehead.

 _This made-up, tattooed child was going to be teaching at their school, at the greatest wizarding school in the world?_

Suddenly, they thought, his age wasn't their only concern.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "the students will all be arriving tomorrow evening. Let us tuck in, and then we shall retire to bed. Is everyone alright with this?"

The majority of the professors grudgingly agreed whilst Gaara made no comment.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore exclaimed, placing his hand on Gaara's shoulder and leading him up towards the High Table. "Come, Mr. Gaara, there's a seat empty right beside Filius and I."

Flitwick was one of the few professors who didn't seem to mind Gaara's appearance or age, and so when the young, odd-looking redheaded boy sat down beside him, Filius was more than happy to engage him in conversation.

"Filius Flitwick, Professor of Charms and Head of Ravenclaw—it's a pleasure to meet you! Sabakuno Gaara, was it?"

"Yes, that is correct," Gaara nodded. He had a suspicion that the small man had misunderstood his name, but Gaara decidedly made no effort to correct him.

"Tell me, Sabakuno, what language is it that you will be teaching?"

 _Okay, that's enough of that._ "I will be teaching my native language, Japanese...And by the way, it's three parts: Sabaku. No. Gaara. Gaara is my first name."

"Oh," exclaimed Filius. "My apologies, Gaara—is it alright if I call you Gaara?"

"Yes, it is fine."

The food appeared on the table then, abruptly as always, and Filius had to admit that he was impressed when Gaara seemed to show no reaction at all, only waiting a moment before beginning to move small amounts of food onto his plate.

 _Speaking of the food..._

"I say," Filius blurted out, "what _is_ that?"

In front of where Gaara was seated was a wide array of food that which he had never seen before in his entire life. Dumbledore responded before Gaara could, explaining, "I asked the House Elves to prepare some food native to Mr. Gaara's home country—although I must say that I am not quite sure what the majority of it is...though I am certainly eager to try it." Dumbledore smiled, "it is always nice to try new things, isn't it?"

Several of the professors agreed, looking on curiously at the display. It was Filius who eventually asked the question that was on everyone's mind...

"Gaara," he began, "if they're from your home country, then surely you must know what they are?"

Gaara paused in his eating to nod briefly, and went about setting his chopsticks— _where had those come from?_ —down gently, before beginning to gesture at the different dishes each individually, one at a time**. "This is tenpura...udon...soba...and these are dango...and sakuramochi..."

"Fascinating! And what are these made of," Filius asked, intrigued, pointing at the dango first.

Gaara glanced at it briefly before slurping another noodle. "Dango is a dumpling made from mochiko."

"And what about this?" Filius queried, pointing at another dessert dish.

Gaara swallowed before glancing at it just as briefly as he had the last one. He answered, "Sakuramochi is sweet mochi with an anko center, wrapped in a pickled sakura leaf."

"Mochi? Anko? Sakura?" Filius asked, bewildered by the foreign terms. Dumbledore was paying rapt attention, apparently also compelled by the sweets, and Professor Sprout was not-so-subtly leaning in as well. Even Madame Hooch looked like she was watching out of the corner of her eye, inching closer bit by bit.

 _They do always say that the fastest way to a person's heart is through food..._

Gaara took note of Filius's confused expression, and the other professors' apparent interest as well. "Mochi means rice cake," he explained, "and anko is red bean paste. Sakura means cherry blossom." Gaara picked up one of the sakuramochi and passed it on to Filius who took it tenderly, fully enthralled in the tiny foreign dessert. "So, sakuramochi is a sweet rice cake with a red bean paste center, wrapped in a pickled leaf from a cherry blossom tree."

Filius gingerly took a bite as Dumbledore and Sprout watched in rapt anticipation. "It's…it's _delicious_!" He hastily turned to Gaara, clarifying, "you called this…sakuramochi, yes?"

Ignoring the slight mispronunciation of the name, Gaara nodded briskly.

"Why, we should serve these every night! I'm sure the students will positively _love_ them," he exclaimed as Dumbledore and Sprout each reached eagerly for one, and then another, and a third...

Soon the house-elves had to refill the plate, as the three of them moved on to try the dango next, which of course garnered a similar reaction of _extreme_ _enthusiasm_.

As they continued blissfully eating the tiny foreign desserts, Filius started up on his questions once more, while the other professors, like before, tried their best to act as if they weren't listening in.

"So tell me, Gaara—if you don't mind—what in _Merlin_ does that symbol on your forehead mean?"

Gaara paused, before very briefly glancing up and then away again. "It's _ai_ written in kanji," he answered finally. A pause. "...It means love, or affection."

"Love!" Filius wheezed, choking a bit, "I never would have guessed!"

"How sweet," Sprout said, smiling wide while trying not to laugh.

"Ah, I never introduced myself," she noted, leaning over Filius to better see the young new professor, "Pomona Sprout, it is an _absolute pleasure_ to meet you, Gaara."

Gaara dipped his head in response, "Likewise, Sprout-sensei."

"Please, just Pomona is fine," she insisted. "And I must ask—if you don't mind—what is _sensei_?"

Gaara started, abruptly realizing that he'd been saying it this whole time and no one had called him out on it. _I'll have to watch myself better,_ he thought, _or I'm going to be causing a lot of confusion_...

"It can mean teacher," he explained, "as well as doctor."

" _Oh_ ," Pomona waved, "well you don't have to worry about calling me professor all the time! None of us teachers do, not really, not to each other."

"As you wish," Gaara relented, reluctantly, before turning to address Dumbledore. "Sumimasen, Dumbledore-sensei—" _ah, I've messed up already_ — " _excuse me_. But where will I be staying, if I may ask?"

"Ah," Dumbledore breathed, pulling out a small golden pocket-watch and peering at it, looking flustered. "...has it been that long already? Come along, now, and I'll show you the way—Minerva, if you're not too busy you may come as well— _you had some questions you wanted to ask, didn't you?_ Come along, now."

Filius and Pomona waved cheerfully goodbye as the three of them filed out of the room, with Dumbledore leading the procession; Gaara walked off to the side, slightly behind him, while McGonagall trailed on behind.

"I'll show you where your classroom is later, but for now this is where you'll be staying..."

They came to a stop in front of an ancient-looking painting, no doubt in great shape for its extensive age, and Gaara couldn't help jerking suddenly when he noticed just _who_ was front and center on the canvas, staring back and blinking at him.

"An old friend of mine," Dumbledore related, smiling mournfully.

Meanwhile Gaara was still staring in shock, with the man in the painting curiously tilting his head at him, and McGonagall looking grudgingly concerned. " _Senju Hashirama_ ," Gaara said finally, in total awe. The man in the painting smiled then, and waved cheerfully back at him.

"I heard my precious little granddaughter is Hokage now," Hashirama said, grinning ear-to-ear, "is this true, shinobi?"

"Iie, Shodai Hokage-sama," Gaara answered respectfully, bowing deeply before continuing, "Godaime Hokage-sama is retired now."

"Oh, is that so? My precious little granddaughter…she must be so old now." Hashirama smiled sadly while McGonagall watched on in confused interest.

"I still keep in touch," Dumbledore added quellingly, "In fact, _that_ is how I got in touch with Mr. Gaara here!"

"Gaara, huh…" The painted Hokage squinted at him, assessing. "...you don't look like you're from Konoha...which village are you from, exactly?"

"Sunagakure," Gaara acknowledged, bowing once more. "It is a noble honor to meet you, Shodai Hokage-sama. I am Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage of Sunagakure."

"A Kazekage, huh?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "At your age? I must admit I'm impressed." Gaara seemed flustered—and Dumbledore deeply amused—meanwhile the Ex-Hokage thought for a moment, "Speaking of young kages, tell me—is that blond jinchūriki Hokage yet?"

Gaara smiled, pleased, for probably the first time since leaving the relative safety of the Barrier. "Not yet, but Hatake-san—the Rokudaime Hokage—is already working on training him to be the next Hokage. It's estimated that he will be named Nanadaime Hokage within the next five years."

"Good," he grinned, "that kid deserves it more than anyone else. Now," Hashirama smiled ruefully, "I've kept you waiting long enough…"

Suddenly the painting moved, extending out from the wall and revealing itself to in actuality be a door. "Have a good night, Kazekage," he dismissed mirthfully.

The three of them filed into the room then, one after another, and once they had all congregated in the sitting room near the fireplace, the painting-door creaked itself shut behind them. But before Gaara could have the time to so much as admire his new room, Dumbledore began speaking to the room at large.

"Now that we are in private, we have some important matters to discuss..."

Minerva looked about ready to implode when Dumbledore interrupted, "Now, now, Minerva, calm down…we are in _safe_ company—Mr. Gaara is only here to help."

* * *

 ** _*According to the Wiki, Gaara is 166.1 cm tall and weighs 50.9 kg, which I converted to about 5 ft 4 in and 112.2 lbs. According to the internet, the average height and weight for a male in the UK is 5 ft 9 in/175.3 cm and 13.16 stone/83.6 kg. So, Gaara is definitely on the small side._**

 ** _**I've read that it is considered rude in Japan to point, especially with chopsticks._**

* * *

 _ **EDIT: Revised as of 15 September 2018; added in more details, rephrased things, and kicked Severus out because I forgot he was there and it interfered with later chapters—whoops.**_

* * *

 ** _Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks._**

 ** _Enjoyed? Leave a review, or fav/follow._**

 ** _Ja,_**

 ** _\- BL._**


	4. ミネルバ - Minerva

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter Four:**

 **ミネルバ**

 **Minerva**

* * *

"Now, explain yourself, Albus!" Minerva floundered for the proper words to describe how repulsed she was. "When you had said that you had acquired a language teacher, you neglected to mention that you were talking about _a child_!"

"If you would let me explain…" Albus started, trying to allay her distress. "The truth of the matter, Minerva, is that _teaching_ is not Mr. Gaara's real objective in being here…"

Minerva huffed, "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Mr. Gaara's true purpose in being here…is to help us to guard the Stone."

" _Th-the_ …!" Minerva's eyes flitted nervously back and forth between the Headmaster and the young redheaded boy. "You _can't_ be serious!"

"Oh, but I am entirely serious," Dumbledore twinkled, making quick eye contact with Gaara, and smiling assuredly. "There is much more to Mr. Gaara here than meets the eye."

"Explain— _now_ , Albus!"

Dumbledore took his time in coming up with a way to phrase it, and Minerva was just about to interrupt to berate him some more when she froze at the abruptly serious look that he sent her. "Tell me, Minerva…how much do you know about the Hidden Continent?"

All of a sudden it felt to her like all the air had been sucked from the room, and she was standing in the middle of a vacuum. " _The_ —Albus. Tell me you didn't," she insisted, borderline begging. She glanced at Gaara again out of the corner of her eye and then looked quickly back at Albus, suddenly nervous. There was sweat beading on her forehead. "Albus, tell me you didn't!"

Dumbledore stared at her, calmly assessing. "I did."

"Oh, _Merlin_ —" She had to sit down. _She had to_ —

She suddenly felt hands on her arms, holding her up. She didn't know when…when she had started to _fall_ …She looked up only to be met face-to-face with the dead eyes of a child. She flinched, and nearly startled away, but he held tight, gently righting her up, and only letting go once he had confirmed that she was once again capable of supporting herself upright. This _murderer_ , this _barbarian_ —

"Are you alright, McGonagall-sensei?" The child mercenary spoke in a quiet, gravelly voice unfit for a child, his emotionless but assessing eyes unblinking. This close up, she could see that the dark circles around his eyes were just that, and that they weren't painted on like she had previously suspected.

 _No,_ Minerva thought to herself, _he is still a child. It was not his fault that he had been born amongst those…barbarians._

Finally Minerva was able to calm herself enough to look the boy-mercenary in the eyes. His eyes may have appeared empty, but his face was so young…he could be mistaken for a sixth year, _easily_ , maybe even a fifth…

 _This poor child_ …

Minerva had made up her mind and finally come to a decision— _She was going to save this child_.

 _Fine_ , she thought, _let Albus do what he wants…employing this mere child as a guard…Nothing, no one, is going to go after the Stone anyway, so it's no matter…the boy will be safe._

She looked to Gaara again, this time making an effort to relax her face into a more comforting and reassuring look.

 _And meanwhile, while this boy is held here by the "duties" of his "mission"…I am going to take advantage of him being stuck here, and make the most of my time with him…_

 _I am going to save him._

Minerva smiled.

* * *

This woman was unnerving him. At first, she had seemed absolutely _repulsed_ by him— _frightened_ , even. _Hell, she'd nearly collapsed…_

But now…

 _She wouldn't stop smiling at him._

Every time she caught his eye, she'd keep sending these weird looks at him, smiling all the while— _every time_.

 _At this point, he was just avoiding making eye contact._

"Mr. Gaara will play out his role as a professor of Hogwarts, meanwhile he will be keeping watch over the school for any intruders or suspicious behavior. Should he notice anything, he will notify either you or I immediately—or Severus, once I catch him up to speed on the matter. And should any sort of real trouble arise, he will do his duty as a guard employed of the school, and defend against any invaders to protect both the Stone, and the student body.

"He will go on routine patrols randomly scheduled throughout his free time when he is not teaching, and will routinely check in with myself or one of you with updates."

"... _Minerva_? Are you listening?"

"Yes, of course, Albus."

"And…you have no issues with any of this? This is all alright with you?"

"Yes."

They stared for a moment, appraising one another.

 _She was up to something, he knew it. He just didn't know what…_

Somehow the old witch had managed to catch his eye again, and she smiled at him encouragingly. Gaara felt his eye twitch, and he shivered subtly. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Then," Dumbledore began, "I suppose that is all for now...Have a good night, Gaara. Rest up! I will show you the vault after breakfast tomorrow, and remember—the students will arrive in the evening!"

Gaara nodded; He wanted to be alone already.

Dumbledore left promptly after that, but the old witch lingered.

"Have a good night, Mr. Gaara," she said. "If you have any trouble sleeping…" She smiled at him again, this time conspiringly, with an air of understanding about her. "I've found that a glass of warm milk does wonders. Just call out for it, and one of the house-elves will fetch it for you in no time at all."

She lingered still.

"…Rest easy, Mr. Gaara. _You are safe here_."

Gaara continued to stare at her unblinkingly, hoping she'd get the message.

One more reassuring smile thrown his way, and she was finally out the door. Gaara let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, and allowed himself to collapse into a nearby chair. He was tired of this mission already— _suddenly, he was regretting having volunteered in the first place_.

 _I think...I can finally understand why they felt it was necessary to put up a barrier..._

Gaara sighed. _Maybe it was a bad idea coming here_ , he thought.

…Plus, that woman _unnerved_ him.

Now, how to go about avoiding her for the rest of the year…

* * *

 ** _A/N: Finally, enough backstory and context, and onto the actual story! Next chapter will feature Gaara meeting Snape and Quirrell, and hopefully the arrival of the students!_**

 ** _Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks!_**

 ** _Enjoyed? Leave a review, or fav/follow!_**

 ** _Thank you so much for all the kind reviews so far!_**

 ** _And thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Ja,_**

 ** _\- BL._**


	5. みんなは到着いて - Everyone is Arriving

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter Five:**

 **みんなは到着いて**

 **Everyone is Arriving**

* * *

Gaara woke to find himself in an unfamiliar room. It was dark and cold, and the air was muggy and smelled of rain and moss. This wasn't Suna. Konoha? No…no, that's right, he was on a god-awful mission outside the Barrier.

Gaara got up and began examining the room—he hadn't bothered last night before going to sleep— _he still wasn't used to it, and he didn't think he'd ever be, but he valued it greatly after spending sixteen years suffering from extreme insomnia that, in addition to the monster screaming his lungs out in Gaara's head every hour of every day, essentially drove him insane—but he didn't want to think about that now_.

Opening the drawers in the bedroom revealed that his clothes had already been delivered and put away for him, which was helpful, if a bit…strange. There wasn't much else in the room besides the drawers, the bed, and a lamp—he supposed he was expected to decorate or something of the sort.

Moving onto the sitting room he found the bookshelf filled to the brim with all the books he'd read whilst he stayed in Hogsmeade. He supposed it'd be helpful to have on hand if he ever needed to review or check anything. It must've been difficult to transport though…wizards weren't very strong after all. Ah, but they had their spells, didn't they? Perhaps they had a spell that functioned a bit like fūinjutsu…he did remember reading something about an expansion charm…*

Enough exploring though, he supposed it was time to get ready. Gaara returned to the bedroom and quickly dressed. He'd take a shower later— _in the Sand, water was more of a luxury, and thus like all Sand Shinobi he was used to taking effort to preserve it._

As he dressed, he reflected on the events of the night prior…it was going to be difficult trying to avoid that Obā-san all year long— _this mission was getting tiresome already_. But seriously, he was determined not to spend any more time with her than he had to. The problem with that, however, is that she was one of only three people whom he was going to be able to report to, and he had already personally ruled Dumbledore out as well—the old mage unnerved him as well, but for different reasons. Maybe it was the way he always seemed to know more than he should, even more than he let on, or maybe it was the way he tended to act immature and foolish, and not all there, when it was _clear_ he was a lot older and wiser than he often pretended to be—and why pretend? Why _hide_? Why try to get Gaara to let his guard down around him unless he had something to hide? Nonetheless, Gaara wasn't falling for it, and it only served to make him determined to avoid the old man at all costs.

Which unfortunately only left him with one remaining option: the elusive Severus Snape. He hadn't been there at dinner when Gaara had first arrived, but Dumbledore had assured him that he would be showing up for breakfast this morning. ****** Gaara could only hope that he wasn't as bad as the other two, because he needed _someone_ to report to after-all, and he would really rather prefer if that person wasn't the Obā-san or that Ojī-san. ******* This mysterious Severus Snape was his only hope— _how unfortunate_. He just hoped this guy would be different.

In the end, he was right—just not in the way he had been hoping for, or expecting…

The second Gaara arrived in the Great Hall, thanks to some not-entirely-helpful directions from Hashirama ( _evidently, portraits traverse the castle a bit differently than the living_ ), he nearly walked into someone. He was about to apologize when the mop of greasy hair turned to then fix him with an accusing stare.

"And just who…are _you_?" The man drawled, grimacing distastefully.

But Gaara just grit his teeth and bared it, bowing slightly as a formality. "Sabaku no Gaara," he introduced.

The man sneered. "Ah, yes…the new professor." He looked Gaara up and down, "They did warn me about your…immaturity…but I must say, I did not expect… _this_." He spit out the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Evidently, I should have expected something like this—that since you're clearly a child you'd be expected to dress so… _inappropriately ridiculous_." He scoffed, "I mean, just _look at you_. Do yourself a favor and wipe that embarrassing mess off your face before the students arrive." And with that, he turned and marched off towards the High Table, leaving Gaara trembling in fury. _He was barely resisting slaughtering the arrogant bastard._

 _No, calm down_ , he told himself, _he's just random civilian, you'll probably never be forced to deal with him again…_

And just that moment, the old witch approached him.

* * *

 _What in Merlin's name did Severus say to the poor child?! He was already traumatized enough, being raised amongst those barbarians! This is the last thing he needs! Just look at him! He was quite literally shaking in those ridiculous sandals of his! Of course, just leave it to Severus to traumatize the poor boy even worse…_

Minerva quickly began marching her way over to him, muttering all the while about how Severus probably just set her back even further— _how was the boy ever going to understand the castle was a safe place if Severus pulled things like that!_ Once she got close enough to be in hearing distance, she forced herself to quiet her mumblings and frustrated ranting lest she add fuel to the fire and upset the boy even further. Finally coming up next to the mortified child, she focused on bringing forth her most gentle and reassuring voice and asked, " _are you alright_?"

The poor child jerked the moment she began to spoke, and his trembling only worsened. _Oh, Merlin, what to do…_ but suddenly the boy stopped and ceased his trembling, his head turning quickly to look towards the doors. She looked as well, curious as to what could have pulled him out of his episode, only to see Quirrell nervously bumbling into the Hall.

* * *

Something was wrong.

 _Something was just…off…about this wizard's chakra signature. Most wizards had puny, weakened signatures—just enough to show that they were alive, and to slightly distinguish them from what they called "Muggles." But this man's chakra…something was wrong with it._

 _It was larger than others, larger even than Dumbledore's, and it was shaped oddly, too much centered around his head, and about half of it—especially that which was centered around his head—felt…wrong. Corrupted. Twisted. It was like a diseased lump stuck to the back of his head, bursting with chakra—but that didn't make any sense. Some weird wizard illness, perhaps? He would have to ask someone about it—perhaps this Severus Snape if he didn't turn out to be too bad._

 _But it was probably fatal, judging by the state of it—you didn't have chakra that corrupted and live very long. He wouldn't be surprised if the disease was manifesting itself physically, and he wore the turban to conceal the rotting, pulsating, swollen flesh that covered the back of his head. Gaara could understand that._

 _Nonetheless…he would probably be making an effort to avoid him as well this year. Something about that chakra just…made him uncomfortable. Unnerved him in a way different from the way Dumbledore and McGonagall unnerved him, an arguably worse way. His diseased chakra felt corrupted and cold, and almost reminded Gaara of villains such as Orochimaru or that apprentice of his…Yes, he was going to be doing his best to avoid many people this year, including McGonagall, Dumbledore, and this…individual._

 _As he approached, Gaara couldn't help feeling wary of him. He made sure to watch him carefully, and not take his eyes off the stranger as he approached._

The old witch glanced back and force between the two of them curiously, before addressing the diseased wizard. "Quirrell, good morning. You weren't at dinner last night, so you missed Gaara here's introduction."

Gaara bowed slightly, determined to keep the polite habit despite everyone else's refusal to do so. And as he did so, he made sure not to bow too low so that he could keep his eyes on the man at all times. In the distance, Snape watched the exchange carefully. "Sabaku no Gaara," he introduced curtly.

"Y-yes," the man stuttered, reminding Gaara briefly of Naruto's betrothed—Hyūga Hinata, he believed her name was. Besides the stutter though of course, he was nothing like the kind and sweet, but also strong and tenacious woman Gaara had been introduced to.

"I am P-P-Professor Quirrell…" Gaara watched as he quickly looked him up and down. "A-aren't you…a-a little…y-young to be a p-p-professor?"

Gaara stared straight ahead whilst McGonagall fumbled, appearing flustered. "Yes."

"Now, Professor Quirrell, _please_ , Mr. Gaara is very mature and talented for his age and—wait, what?"

Gaara continued to stare. "In this country, yes, I am considered young. But in my homeland, I was already teaching students when I was just thirteen years old." ********

McGonagall looked startled, and Quirrell oddly assessing. "But what—"

She was interrupted before she could even finish her question ( _Gaara was secretly relieved_ ) when Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the room. "Ah, Mr. Gaara! I see you've met Professor Quirrell."

Gaara tried not to twitch _too_ obviously when the old man blatantly referred to him as 'Mister' and Quirrell as 'Professor' in the same damn sentence. Despite what he likes to lead people to believe, it's clear to Gaara that—whether it's because of his age or where he comes from—Dumbledore can't seem to help looking down on him and seeing him as lesser.

Gaara however simply nodded in acknowledgment, wanting to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible, and without waiting for a response made his way over to the High Table and took his seat beside Filius—unfortunately, he was still stuck beside Dumbledore, but if he's lucky that will change in the future.

As soon as he sat down, Filius smiled brightly and wished him a good morning, asking about how his first night in the castle had been. Gaara liked Filius. Unlike most of the other wizards he had met since crossing the Barrier, Filius was always kind, and warm, and welcoming, and friendly. Today he was no different. Gaara could almost ignore Dumbledore on his other side, listening to Filius rant about how bright all of his students were. Filius was a kind man.

And sitting next to him, breakfast went by quickly enough, and as soon as the food was magicked away Dumbledore whisked him away and ushered him off to see the vault.

He was informed that it was currently empty, but that they had all finished setting up their traps and he allowed Gaara to look over them as he explained that someone named Rubeus Hagrid would be personally delivering the Stone later that evening. Gaara wasn't so sure about that, but Dumbledore assured him that up until then they'd kept it safe in a vault at the best wizarding bank in the world, and that this Hagrid character was more than capable of handling this job. Gaara had no choice but to accept him at his word.

After that he was allowed to return back to his quarters, where he worked on writing up a report to send to Kakashi about his experiences outside of the Barrier so far, and what he'd learned, along with his plans for the future of this mission. _He had a feeling Kakashi was going to be amused by his letter. Prick._

Before he knew it, it was time for the students to arrive, and Gaara could hear the train's loud approach from inside his quarters, the whistle loud and shrieking and impossible to ignore. He supposed it was time to head down to the Great Hall for the whatever-Feast.

When he arrived, the Hall was bustling with energy, professors and staff running back and forth and hurrying around—those already in their seats were endlessly fidgeting and fretting over their appearances, continuously smoothing over their clothes and fixing and re-fixing their hair, over and over again. It was mayhem.

Filius was one of the ones excitedly fidgeting in their seat, and when Gaara sat beside him he was nearly blown away by the force of his smile. Just as everything was getting out of control, Dumbledore strode into the room announcing that the thestrals were bringing the students up as they speak. If Gaara thought it was bad before, it was total and absolute chaos now. It was amusing to see some of the more rigid staff members such as McGonagall running around, but she slipped out the back door just as the last person threw themselves into a chair and straightened their robes one last time and the main doors burst open with a roar of noise and in poured a massive stream a students buzzing about like a swarm of bees after someone kicked their hive. What was previously hushed panicking was now a wave of noise that easily encompassed the entire hall.

Gaara rubbed at his temples. It was a madhouse, and he hoped dearly that not every meal would be like this—Filius seemed to sense this and leaned over, whispering, "Don't worry, they're just excited to be back—they're normally not nearly this loud—not to say that they're quiet, either, but, well…this is a whole other level."

Gaara nodded in acknowledgment to his reassurance, unsure of how to respond further; Filius didn't seem to mind, and Gaara appreciated that. He almost reminded him of Naruto, in fact—loud and friendly and talkative, but completely understanding and appreciating of Gaara's…less talkative nature, and stunted social skills. He'd be a bit uncomfortable saying it out loud, but it made him feel significantly better having someone like Naruto here with him. Someday, maybe not soon, but eventually, he would thank Filius for that.

But as he took a closer look at the students, however, he was quite startled to find that many looked almost as old as him! And the very youngest ones…they looked about the same age as academy graduates—no wonder the wizards all thought he was young, their system was incredibly backwards! How could they only start school once a child was already that old? He was borderline appalled. He knew they were civilians, but…this was far too old to just be starting schooling. And they don't even graduate until they're nearly Gaara's age. That was just so…unnecessarily excessive. They wouldn't have to stay in formal schooling so long if they'd just started earlier, when the students' minds were still young and easily moldable. But at this point…

And when would they ever even start to get first-hand experience as an apprentice? Surely not at Gaara's age, for he was already more than old enough to take on an apprentice himself…This was just…too much. Were all institutions outside the Barrier like this? Surely not…right?

As he was pouring over this, he noticed that some students had started pointing at him and gesturing—he supposed it made sense, after all compared to these wizards he stood out quite a bit, not to mention that if they truly didn't even _start_ their careers until they were already _eighteen_ _years old_ …he supposed to them he _would_ appear a bit on the young side— _okay, a lot_ —but it was ridiculous!

Gaara sighed. _He wondered if the Stone had arrived yet…_

And just as he thought that, probably the largest man he had ever seen squeezed through the back door from which McGonagall had escaped, and immediately began making his way towards Dumbledore.

At first Gaara was on edge, ready to fight, but when the Ojī-san warmly greeted him Gaara forced himself to stand down— _he still kept careful watch, though, of course. Just because you trust someone doesn't mean they won't betray you._

The old wizard addressed the large man as "Hagrid," and asked him if the package was safe, whilst making brief but significant eye contact with Gaara.

 _Ah, so this was the man delivering the Stone…_

Gaara had to admit, on the surface at least, he definitely seemed more equipped than most wizards to protect the Stone, being so naturally heavily-built—however Gaara knew from experience that size wasn't everything, and could only get you so far. _After all, most of the men he had fought and killed—no, slaughtered when he was younger, were much bigger than him—no. He's not going to think about this, not here, not now. Not while he's on an important mission outside the Barrier—not after all this time. For god's sake, he's moved on from this—he has._

 _(He was also lying to himself.)_

The large man—Hagrid—glanced at Gaara as well, first wary, then confused.

 _He must've just noticed how young I look_ , Gaara thought. _This was getting real tiring, real quickly. Gaara almost wished that something would happen to the Stone just so he could show them that he wasn't a child—no. He wasn't going there, he mustn't think like that. He is no longer the bloodthirsty killing machine that he once was. He was no longer a monster—that was removed from him a long time ago. He must show them he is not a child through maturity, not violence._

 _Control yourself._

Gaara held in a scoff, he could almost imagine Shukaku grumbling at that thought—he was very glad that demon was gone, or that would have made this mission a hell of a lot harder.

Gaara was drawn back to the present by Hagrid addressing Dumbledore, "Yes sir, yes, safe an' sound. Professor McGonagall should be bringin' in the firs' years any moment now."

And just like that, the doors were pushed open once more— _and he hadn't even noticed them being closed, so drawn up in his thoughts_ —and in walked that old witch again, with an army of small, nervous-looking students trailing behind her.

 _Ah, so these were the first years—the very youngest students they had…_

 _It was…irritating. Everyone knew children learnt best when they're still young—but these students were far too old to just be starting. It was…pathetic._

 _And extremely ineffective._

 _But there's nothing he can do about that—he's just here on a mission to guard the Stone and the inhabitants of the school whilst performing his duties as a language teacher, and nothing more. He—what the hell was that? A dirty old hat? What?_

McGonagall called a name off a long list, and one of the small, civilian wizarding children stepped forward, trembling in their incredibly impractical shoes, and took their seat on a rickety old stool in front of the High Table, in view of the entire school, and—

…and she put the decrepit old hat on the child's head. _Okay_.

Suddenly it _screamed_ —one of the House names? And there was massive applause as the kid scurried off to the table that was cheering the loudest— _ah. So that's what they meant by "sorting ceremony."_

 _And they thought Gaara was weird…_

It went on like this for a while, until they got to the P's and they called out this one name that caused the entire hall to collapse into silence, which was soon followed by hushed and frantic whispers that gradually got louder and louder, up until this small, messy haired boy with a skinny frame and ill-fitting glasses stepped forward, and the Hall descended into silence once more— _you could hear a senbon drop_.

 _Just what's so special about this Harry Potter kid,_ Gaara thought.

* * *

 ***Fūinjutsu, or Sealing Techniques: jutsu that** **involves** **sealing objects, living beings, chakra, etcetera, within another object. (Ex. Sealing ninja tools in scrolls or sealing the Kyūbi inside of Naruto).**

 ****Some people may remember Snape was actually mentioned in the first chapter, but due to some contradictions** — ** _and since he never really did or said anything anyway_** — **I just removed him from that chapter entirely, so Gaara hasn't met him yet.**

 *****Means "grandma" and "grandpa," respectively** — **often used to refer to old people in general (if you watched the sub you might remember Naruto calling Tsunade this** — **I think in the dub it was translated as "Granny").**

 ******Technically it was a filler, but whatever. At the end of the first series, when Gaara's one student gets kidnapped, blah blah blah.**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Next chapter should feature his first class.**_

 _ **Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks** **…I'm too tired to correct them right now and I just really wanna get this chapter out after going so long without updating—college has had me very busy, unfortunately, and I only started working on this chapter this afternoon, but I've been working on it for HOURS. It is now 12:55 AM, and I want to sleep.**_

 _ **Enjoyed? Leave a review, or fav/follow!**_

 ** _Thank you so much for all the kind reviews so far!_**

 ** _And thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Ja,_**

 ** _\- BL._**


	6. 挨拶 - Greetings

白虎 ロキ

* * *

 **Chapter Six:**

 **挨拶**

 **Greetings**

* * *

"We have one more new professor to introduce—Professor Gaara, who will be teaching a second language. Since this is the first year that a second-language class has been taught at Hogwarts, all students will be entering into the first level…"

The second smallest wizard at the High Table stood up—and though it was hard to see from so far away, Harry could tell that he had shocking red hair and pale skin, and was noticeably shorter than the rest of the staff—except, of course, for Professor Flitwick. And unlike the rest of the professors, Professor Gaara didn't wear a cloak, just a simple red button down and slacks, with what looked like a small flask on his hip.

Harry heard some of the older students murmuring on about his appearance— _honestly, he was just relieved they were no longer focused on him_. But it was only when he heard Hermione talking to herself about the "mark on his forehead" did he notice the strange blood-red symbol on his head…did it mean something? Did it have to do with the language he was teaching? Maybe he'll ask later. Or would that be rude? Harry probably wouldn't be the first to ask him about it—in fact, Harry was willing to bet he'd been asked dozens if not hundreds of times since he's arrived here. _He's probably about as tired of it as Harry is of people asking about his scar_.

… _but still_. You don't go about putting that on your own face without expecting to be questioned about it. _Unless where he's from it's not that unusual_ …

 _Maybe he'd just wait until someone else asked…_

The professor bowed before sitting down again, which resulted in another round of excited and curious whispers, with students ( _Hermione_ ) trying to recall which cultures practiced bowing. Hermione seemed awfully determined that he must be from an Asian country.

"He looks awfully young though, doesn't he?" Fred—George?—muttered.

"Well, you know they say people from Asian countries tend to age much better," someone interjected, "I'm sure he's much older than he looks."

Harry tried to squint to see for himself, but quickly gave up. _Glasses suck_.

* * *

Gaara was given an empty classroom and told to decorate as he saw fit. In the end he simply transfigured the desks to resemble those of an average shinobi academy classroom. ***** He didn't bother decorating the walls and instead left them plain. There was a chalkboard pushed off to the side which Gaara wheeled to the front of the classroom. On the desk in the front of the room he piled some books and parchment. With that he considered himself done.

 _Gaara was never much of an interior decorator._

* * *

When Harry and his new friends, Ron and Hermione, first stepped into Professor Gaara's classroom they didn't know what to expect.

The professor was already there when they arrived, facing the chalkboard with his back to them, so they quickly scurried into their seats. Within the next few minutes the rest of the class arrived, and the moment the last student stepped into the room the door seemed to slip shut of its own accord, and the professor began to speak.

* * *

"Hajimemashite, watashi wa Sabaku no Gaara desu. Anata no sensē desu. Nihongo o oshieru tsumorimasu yo. Dōzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." As he spoke, he wrapped a small amount of sand around a stick of chalk and used it to write the following on the board: ******

 **はじめまして、私は砂漠の我愛羅です。**

 **あなたの先生です。**

 **日本語を教えるつもりますよ。**

 **どうぞよろしくお願いします。**

The majority of the class stared in total bemusement, completely lost. Hermione, meanwhile, was bouncing in her seat— _Japanese! He was teaching them Japanese!_

Once he finished talking (and writing), he moved to the side of the board and turned to face them finally, and—

 _Whoa._

Harry knew the twins had said he'd looked young, but…this was _insane_. Harry could've mistaken him for another student! He looked to Ron and Hermione to find them just as shocked as he was. The professor seemed to take note of all their expressions however, because what he next said was—

"Before you say anything, I am well aware that I am considered young by your culture's standards."

 _Our "culture's standards"? What's that supposed to mean?_

"However, in my culture I am considered to be a full-fledged adult."

Harry meanwhile noted that while he looked young, his voice was a different story. _The others were probably right, he must be older than he looks…_

"Just how old are you?" It was Malfoy who interrupted.

Professor Gaara stared him down until he began to fidget in his seat, and finally looked away. Gaara continued staring as he answered, "If you must know, I am nineteen years old."

" _Nineteen_?!" Hermione shouted, before quickly covering her mouth and flushing in embarrassment. "S-sorry, Professor!"

"It is fine. Like I said, I am considered rather young by your culture's standards. However, I assure you that I am more than qualified to teach you."

" _Still_ ," Ron whispered, " _Nineteen_? I thought he'd just _looked_ young, I didn't expect him to actually be…" Ron squeaked when he noticed the professor was staring right at him. Gaara maintained the awkward eye-contact for what felt like a minute straight, before finally looking away.

"For those of you who haven't figured it out already, I am going to be teaching you Japanese."

He erased what was on the board with the help of some more sand and wrote three new characters, then four more under it.

 **日本語**

 **にほんご**

Finally, under that, he wrote in romaji: **NI - HO - N - GO**.

Gaara then tapped the board while looking at the class. " _Nihongo_ —it means Japanese. To start off, we will be going over vowels, and then basic greetings and the like. Because you do not yet know how to read hiragana or katakana, I will be writing them in romaji. Afterward, I will teach you five basic hiragana, and your homework will be to study what I've taught you during this class period. Be sure to take notes."

Erasing what he'd previously written, Gaara began writing more letters as Harry and many others scurried to get out their parchment and quills—Hermione, of course, was already ready and had already taken some notes.

"Nihongo, unlike English, only has five vowels," Gaara began.

 **A - I - U - E - O**

Hermione's hand shot up in to the air. "Yes…?"

"Hermione Granger, sir. What did you mean when you said English doesn't have five vowels?"

Gaara frowned thoughtfully. "While English does only have five letters to represent vowels, in actuality it has closer to twenty vowels."

" _Twenty_?!" Ron quickly covered his mouth. "…sorry."

Gaara ignored him. "For example: _ee_ as in bee, _ih_ as in bin, _ey_ as in hey, _eh_ as in head, _ahh_ as in bad, _ir_ as in bird, _ah_ as in bond, _uh_ as in fun, _oh_ as in bone, _oo_ as in food, _uu_ as in foot, _au_ as in fawn, _ai_ as in hide, _ow_ as in bowed, _oi_ as in boy…that's fifteen examples of different vowels that you will find in the English language. It's for this reason that many people find it difficult to learn English, because there is often no way to predict how a vowel is pronounced by how it is written."

He paused to look over at the class only to find them staring at him open-mouthed and gaping. "But like I said, nihongo is easier in that it only has five vowels. We will go over those now."

"Repeat after me. Ah. Ee. Oo. Eh. Oh."

The class did their best to mimic him.

"Again. Ah. Ee. Oo. Eh. Oh."

They tried again and did a little better this time. Hermione, of course, performed perfectly. As she whispered advice to Ron, Gaara moved on to the next subject matter. "Now we will go over some greetings. We will be starting with good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night."

 **O - HA - YO - O - GO - ZA - I - MA - SU**

"The full, polite way to say good morning is _ohayō_ _gozaimasu_ , though people will often shorten it to simply _ohayō_. Repeat after me: _ohayōgozaimasu_."

Harry did his best mimic him, and felt a little better when the professor nodded approvingly at him. "Notice that I wrote the second _o_ separate; this is because nihongo is pronounced in beats, unlike English which is more of a stress-based language. Each character is to be pronounced for approximately one beat, however since you are only able to read romaji I will be illustrating this by spacing the letters out appropriately. Now repeat after me, once more: _ohayōgozaimasu_."

This time the class got it nearly perfect.

"Good. Now, you may also notice that the final _u_ isn't very vocalized…it is common with Japanese speaking people to pronounce _su_ in this way—we will go over this more later. But for now, let's move onto the next greeting: _konnichiwa_."

 **KO - N - NI - CHI - WA**

"Notice how I have written it—notice how the _n_ is by itself. In nihongo, there are many instances where _n_ is pronounced as a syllable by itself. Listen to me say it and then repeat after me: _konnichiwa_."

Harry did his best to pronounce it right. It seemed to him almost like the _n_ was being drawn out—so he tried to mimic that. His chest then swelled with pride when Professor Gaara seemed to focus on him when he nodded approvingly at the class. "Good. _Konnichiwa_ means good afternoon, however it is often used interchangeably with _hello_. Next is good evening: _konbanwa_."

 **KO - N - BA - N - WA**

"Notice again how it is written, with the two _n_ 's being separate. Now repeat after me: _konbanwa_."

Harry listened carefully to how Professor Gaara pronounced it, realizing the _n_ sounded similar to _hmm_.

 _It can't be that much different than saying "_ _mmm" when you think something tastes good…_

 _Nnn…nnn…konnnbannnwa…konnbannwa…konbanwa_. Harry said it aloud. The professor nodded approvingly again. _Japanese isn't that hard_ , Harry thought.

"Good. The next greeting is _oyasuminasai_ —or, good night."

 **O - YA - SU - MI - NA - SA - I**

"Repeat after me: _oyasuminasai_."

This time Harry was able to repeat it easily, and he noticed that many of his other classmates had similar experiences—even Ron seemed pleased with himself.

"Excellent. Now, like _ohayōgozaimasu_ , _oyasuminasai_ can often be shortened to just _oyasumi_. Repeat after me: _oyasumi_."

The class recited as told, and the professor again nodded approvingly.

Ron groaned quietly, "How many more…?"

Again, Professor Gaara seemed to catch him— _did he have magical hearing or something_ , Harry wondered—and stared Ron dead in the eye as he answered: "We will be going over twelve more before we move onto hiragana."

Ron choked, " _Twelve_?!"

"Yes."

After that they went over _sayōnara_ (goodbye), _arigatō gozaimasu_ (thank you), _sumimasen_ (excuse me/I'm sorry), _iie_ (no), _ittekimasu_ and _itterasshai_ —which were difficult and confusing because they had another weird thing where you were apparently supposed to pause where the double consonants were, and also because they didn't really have any English equivalent (Professor Gaara explained them as "I will go and come back" and "please go and come back"—apparently it was a thing in Japan where you and a family member would say those when one of you is leaving the house), _tadaima_ (I'm home), _okaeri_ _nasai_ (welcome home), _itadakimasu_ (thank you for the meal—to be said _before_ eating), _gochisōsama_ _deshita_ (thank you for the meal—to be said _after_ eating), _hajimemashite_ (roughly the Japanese equivalent of "how do you do?"), and _yoroshiku_ _onegaishimasu_ (Japanese equivalent of "nice to meet you"). Finally, Gaara told them, they were done with vocabulary for the day.

"Now," he said, "we will be going over our first five hiragana—there are forty-eight in total…"

As he trailed off, Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione urgently, " _Forty-eight_?!" Harry shared the sentiment. " _Bloody hell_."

Gaara wrote five characters on the board:

 **あいうえお**

He turned to the class, "Do you remember the vowels we went over earlier?"

Harry nodded, as did most of the class.

"Can you repeat them?"

 _Uh…_

In the end, it appeared only Hermione, Malfoy, and Nott could recite them. Harry made a mental note to ask Hermione for help later.

"Good." Gaara paused. _What was it that Filius-sensē had mentioned? Points?_ "Five points to each of you." _He'll figure out the details of that later_ …

Hermione beamed, while Malfoy and Nott high-fived.

"Now, repeat again— _ah_ , _ee_ , _uu_ , _eh_ , _oh_."

This time the entire class succeeded in reciting the vowels. Gaara then gestured to each of the characters on the board individually, one by one.

" _Ah_." He pointed to the first one.

" _Ee_." He then pointed to the second.

" _Uu_." The third.

" _Eh_." The fourth.

" _Oh_." Gaara then pointed at the final one all the way on the right.

"These characters are written in romaji as _A_ , _I_ , _U_ , _E_ , and _O_."

 **あいうえお**

 **A - I - U - E - O**

"These are the first five hiragana you will be learning—memorize them by next class. There will be a quiz." Then before anyone could object or get in a single question—

He disappeared in a whirl of sand.

Harry and Ron gaped while Hermione began stuttering out objections.

"B-but— _how did he do that_?! You can't apparate on school grounds! I read about it in Hogwarts: A History! It's _impossible_!"

Harry and Ron shared a look.

"And _besides_! What was that with the sand?! And where was the _crack_?! It was completely silent! _That's not how it's supposed to_ —"

Harry and Ron each put a hand on one of Hermione's shoulders and began steering her out of the classroom, having already packed her stuff up for her. "C'mon, 'Mione, you can ask him about it next class…"

Hermione perked up. "Dinner! I can ask him about it at dinner!"

.

.

.

Professor Gaara did not show up for dinner.

* * *

 ***Kishimoto never really tells us much about the academy in Suna, so I'm just imagining it looks pretty much the same as the one in Konoha, except with a lot less color and a lot more tan. And sand. Lots of sand. I'm betting that stuff gets _everywhere_.**

 ****Sand is tiny and hard to see, so no one notices that he is actually using sand to move the chalk** **—they instead assume that he's just using whatever spell it is that all of the other professors use to magically write on the board.**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry I'm late, I got a cold and I had to do a bunch of research and reviewing and I was worried about getting things wrong and then there was a problem with uploading and things kept disappearing and**_ _ **—UGH. Anyway, here it is.**_

 _ **Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks** **…I'll be going over it again myself later once I'm feeling better, but sometimes I don't notice if something is missing or off or just looks funny (like an asterisk without an explanation at the botto** **m** **—I'm pretty sure I got all of those, but I could be wrong** **), so please notify me if you catch anything like that, thanks.**_

 _ **Enjoyed? Leave a review, or fav/follow!**_

 ** _Thank you so much for all the kind reviews so far!_**

 ** _And thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Ja,_**

 ** _\- BL._**


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